One of the few scholars able to read and interpret ancient Sumerian and Akkadian clay tablets, Zecharia Sitchin (1920-2010) based his bestselling The 12th Planet on texts from the ancient civilisations of the Near East. Drawing both widespread interest and criticism, his controversial theories on the Anunnaki origins of humanity have been translated into more than 20 languages and featured on radio and television programmes
In Mr. Sitchin's [work], evolution and creationism collide. He has spent his life arguing that people evolved with a little genetic intervention from ancient astronauts who came to Earth ... He has studied ancient Hebrew, Akkadian and Sumerian, the language of the ancient Mesopotamians, who brought you geometry, astronomy, the chariot, and the lunar calendar. And in the etchings of Sumerian pre-cuneiform script--the oldest example of writing--are stories of creation and the cosmos that Mr. Sitchin takes literally. New York Times